Klara’s Universe

I made it! I passed the first screening of the exam to enter the GSAPS (Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies) department in Waseda. The results were out last week on Thursday.
    Of course this means I still have to pass the second screening, namely the interview and the written essay examination on the 11th of November. But I am confident I can make it. They are both in English and rely on general matters, so by extensively reading Time, Newsweek and all sorts of international magazines, as well as some more books in my intended field of study (social development) I think I can make it…
    Naturally, things cannot work out for me without some additional spice. The TOEFL official score result I ordered in late June when I first registered for the test has not yet reached the admissions office… It seems that 2 months and a half after passing the test are not enough for the TOEFL offices to send a sheet of paper to Japan… Luckily (or not) I am far from being the first (and most certainly not the last either!) of the victims of TOEFL Examinations slow and stuck bureocracy and just submitting my examinees report score seemed to be enough for the moment. Needless to say, I send an email of complaint to urge them to send the paper, but people in TOEFL still couldn’t find time to deal with it. It makes me wonder why, with so many people giving this altogether academically meaningless test every week all other the world, cannot find the funds to hire more staff to keep up with their schedule and be on time with sending the report sheets.
    On a more cheerful note, I also met my sempai from Hungary Olga, who is already a first year student in GSAPS and she showed me around the campus, while introducing me to other students in Waseda. I am now more convinced than ever that GSAPS will most fit me both academically and environmentally! But let’s wait and see!!
   
   

Last week on the 16th of October I went to pass the exams for the scholarship and MBA program of Renault Foundation at the French Institute in Tokyo. The exam had 2 parts: 1 was the written 1h exam in the morning from 10-11 and then the interview from 17.

        The written exam was quite desastruous. Imagine all those scary logical problems that haunted your childhood in 5th grade (I know they did haunt mine!) with sheep and men and how many heads and how many legs… Or the ones with the black and white biliard balls to be extracted at the lottery etc. well I just had to do 25 of those in just 1h, no calculator allowed! Well, suicidal as it seemed, I did endeavor to do 20 of them, though I am pretty sure at least 5 were wrong, given the fact that when the time approached I just went back to those I wasn’t sure about and made the best guess. Ah, did I mention I am studying literature and I have’t done one single mathematical calculus since 5 years back?

        Then I had a 6 h break which I struggled to fill in a cheap, unstressful way (besides rereading and rehearsing over and over the self introduction I had prepared with my French friend beforehand).

        Finally, at 16.50 I wen to the place were the interviews were held only to find out they were already 30 minutes late, the person who was supposed to enter at 16.40 still waiting outside. But when I finally went in, the interview proved to be, as expected, much better than the morning written exam. At least French I have been speaking on a more or less regular basis in recent years, thanks to my great friends in Todai. The self introdution went well, except when I said ‘renault is one of the biggest Japanese international companies’ But I corrected myself and everyone started laughing, so it wasn’t that bad. The bad part came later, when the guy from Dauphine (the one who supervised us during the exam and who, when I asked him if we can use the question sheet as a draft for our calculations, shook his head in horror and said ‘no, no’ -though of course that’s exactly what I did later, seeing everyone else doing it!:) ) started asking me if I know any manager, if I know what this job involves etc. Problems which I did answer, but in a hesitating way.

They said I will learn their answer in early December (though Im afraid itll be more like late December). Let’s wait and see!

Dessous les goutes d’automne
Il y a un fleuve qu’inonde mon ame.
Les pensees a toi, eteignant la flamme,
De mes jours monotones.

(ecrit le 16 octobre 2007, chez l’Institut francais de Tokyo)

Le chuchotement hurlant
Des geuilles mourantes
Onsede mes yeux.

Trmeblantes, gelees,
Elles revent encore
Une derniere fois
Les plages desertes.

Mais meme mes doigts
Qui tombent plastigies
Dans les rivieres de neige,
N’osent plus me dire adieu.

Alors, mes yeux,
Restes fixes autour des feuilles
Refusent de m’obeir.
Je vais resusciter!

(ecrit le 17 octobre 2007, pendant le seminaire de litterature japonaise ancienne, a l’Universite de Tokyo)

Tomorrow, 17th of ocbtober, is the international day when people from all other the world decided to have a stand and remind international organisations and state governments of the pledge they all took to end world poverty before 2015.
The objective seems very far from being reacheable and it is therefore even more necessary for each and one of us to at least take some minutes of our time and sign the pledge online (today, until tomorrow -the votes made after 17th midnite won’t be counted!)

Please take just 2 minutes and pledge online to remember the international authorities that they promised to eradicate world poverty by 2015…

Your vote will be counted and will matter!

http://standupaolunmc.org/standup/

I find myself at a crossroads. I will graduate (if I manage to write the much dreaded thesis) next year in march and i will luckily enter in the possession of a bachelor degree from the University of Tokyo. Great! And from there, where?
      For the past months I have been rolling front n back over the possibilities that await me from next year. To seek employment? To continue my studies for master? In any case, one necessity has risen above them all: the necessity for a change!
     Studying university in Japan had its uncountable advantages and benefits but it also managed to somehow ruin not only my appetite for study, but also my faith in education at large. Academically speaking, I didn’t gain much. I wanted to study Japanese literature but now after 5 years in Japan I can say the things I have trully learned in my field can only double the knowledge I already had on the subject before coming here. And even those, gained from self teaching more than from the teachers in the prestigious Todai. Because on the one hand I know I will never trully master the language ( and I say so after almost 10 years of study) and on the other, that especially in my department grades are given away so easily, the standard being so low, I have really lost all interest in Japanese literature and possibly literature at large. And yet I am still hungry for study! There are so many things to be learnt, to be done in this world and I feel I have been wasting myself doing nothing all this time…
      It is because of this that at least a change in scenery was more than necessary. A change of major at least, if not a change a country whatsoever, because after all the Japanese education system is widely infamous for its inefficiency and I can but confirm it with my own experience. Or perhaps a change of orientation whatsoever and start doing something real, concrete for a change… Start working for a couple of years?

            1. At first I was well determined to go back to Europe, the continent that made me and where I feel most at home. I fell in love with France since raw age and studying in Paris always had its inevitable appeal to me. This is why when I heard about the scholarship of the Renault Foundation from a Russian girl who graduated the same university a year before me, I knew it had all the necessary ingredients: Paris, Sorbonne, Renault, MBA, 1000euros a month, selection regardless of initial background. A change of major (MBA) and a major change of environment.
     It was my first choice until I realised that my disappointment with Japan might be reedited. Starting to socialise with many expatriate French in Tokyo and entering their circles I suddenly realised Paris will be not only my cultural, literary enclave, but also the city of high rime rate, the place where everyone talks about politics and has a tendency towards self sufficiency, not to mention a certain regard towards East Europeans… Will Paris really be the most suitable place for me to live in? Will I be able to actually readapt after so many years in Japan?
            I applied for it and I will pass the written examination made of logical exercises and an oral interview this Tuesday, the 16th…

            2.  Due to these doubts and also because I wouldn’t like to find myself failing the exam for Renault and having no place to go, I decided to apply for another top university here in Japan, Waseda. I have realised that what I want to do in the future is work for an international NGO like the UN or its affiliates and help people in need. It is for this reason that I decided to change my major to International Relations and Waseda is truely has the best program: courses in English, teachers who worked for UNICEF and teaching precisely my field (humanitarian aid and education), a majority of foreign students, field works, study trips and other practical activities. Plus I would get to be with my boyfriend…
      However, this means staying in Japan… away from my family, and with the specter of repeating the 4 years in Todai in a similar academic lethargy…
             I have already sent all the ducoments and am waiting for their reply on the 25th October. If I passed, I have to sit for an interview and an essay exam on the 11th of November.
       
            3. Still floating between uncertainties and also in the same legendary seek for a change, I went this Friday to a Job Fair organised by Japan Times. The event started as it did many times before, with an ambiguous hesitant and fruitless talk with the people from the Bloomberg stand… But everything changed when I turned to my next objective, the stall of ZARA Japan. The lady there was incredibly nice and we talked for a long time. she seemed to take some interest in me, so I handed her my CV, which resulted in even more enthusiasm. Quite soon we decided they wanted me, and that I could start as a part time, then considering getting hired for real from next April. Incidentally the representative for Japan was there too, and learning that he is of French nationality, didn’t hesitate to approach him in French. an encounter which triggered even more cheerful exclamations of ‘Take her in rite now’ and ‘Please introduce us more friends of yours if you have, we need people like you very badly’. All in all, and due to the salutary insight of my friends, I managed to even get the name card of the lady and already wrote a thanking email. She said she already contacted the head of the Shibuya shop and he agreed to call me on Monday. Let’s wait and see…
                But all exciting as it all sound: international brand, international environment, international career possibilities, a warm welcome… Is this really what I want to do?

The toothed wheel might soon turn around and head for me… In fright of being left over with no possibility, I applied for many different future activities… But what if I won’t be left over… What if I won’t be left over by any of them? What then? Which one should I choose?

               This is why I turn to you my friends. Please give me some advice… Which one do you think would be better? Which one would you choose?
           
               HELP!

The quest for the perfect man has been one of western culture’s uninterrupted obsessions and has been widely exploited throughout mythology, religion, philosophy and art. From the Supreme God, as the foundation of monotheism and Adam, as the first man, to the concept of Ying and Yang or the myth of the androgyne, as the ideal combination of the sexes all the way to modern times supernatural powered cartoon heroes like Superman, humanity has produced a long and highly diversified series of eligible surrogates for the greater philosophical concept of homo perfectus.

As the incarnation of both human essences, male and female, the androgyne stands as a long-lasting theme in western literature, rooted in one of western philosophy’s most beautiful myths fathered by none other than Plato. According to this myth, the first humans were neither men nor women, but asexual beings endowed with both male and female qualities, but who, having earned Zeus’ wrath, were punished by the mighty god who threw his trade-marked thunders and separated them in 2 halves: male and female, cursing them thus to spend their existence looking for their lost half in the ultimate hope to become wholes again.

A key theme with many a Romantic writers, the androgyne has also inspired many unforgettable literary characters, from A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s Puck to Childe Harold to Dorian Gray. But none of these incarnations are as credible and endowed with such psychological depth as Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, who both literally and figuratively changes from man to woman in his/her centennial journey of self-emancipation.

 

In the past years, great concerns about the global warming, the greenhouse effect and its causes have been arisen not only by the scientists, but also by people everywhere. Many scientists believe that these phenomena are due in large part to the intensive use of carbon-rich fuels. Over the last 150 years, the trend in energy use has been toward reducing carbon consumption and increased use of hydrogen. Each dominant fuel, from wood to coal to oil and, perhaps, to natural gas, has contained more and more hydrogen and less and less carbon. Each successive fuel has been cleaner and more powerful.

But perhaps a much cleaner energy can be found by following the trend to its natural limit and using pure hydrogen, a fuel with zero carbon content. Regardless of how much it is used, most scientists agree that hydrogen will not produce the pollutants that have progressively degraded our environment in the past.

If asked ‘What is hydrogen?’ most people would undoubtedly think of the first element of the periodic table and maybe the hydrogen bomb. And indeed, the hydrogen atom contains a single proton, around which orbits a single electron. And it has also been used to build the famous hydrogen bomb. However, perhaps the most important aspect of hydrogen is that it is the world’s lightest, most abundant, and most explosive element. Moreover, besides being the simplest, naturally occurring atom, it also accounts for three-fourths of the universe’s mass and it is estimated that the sun itself burns up 11 billion pounds of hydrogen every second. On Earth, it is mostly found chemically bound to other elements. It can be extracted from many materials - natural gas, methanol, coal, biomass and water.

The idea of something so abundant and omnipresent as hydrogen replacing the diminishing supply of fossil fuels has intrigued most of modern day technical and environmental scientists. The cycle of producing hydrogen in order to produce energy is very simple: separate water into its two constituent gases: hydrogen and oxygen, then burn the hydrogen for fuel, and re-couple it with oxygen to form water again. It is believed to be pollution-free because the only possible pollutant is small: controllable amounts of nitrous oxides produced at high temperature when hydrogen is burned in the presence of air. However, it has been discovered that even this can disappear if fuel cells are used as energy conversion device instead of internal combustion engines. Hydrogen’s exhaust is mainly plain water vapor that can be recaptured and converted once again to hydrogen.

Though many questions regarding the use of hydrogen as a world wide fuel are still unanswered, it is nevertheless true that more and more research and money are being invested in this enterprise. Moreover, the facilities and benefits provided to human society by such an extensive use seem to be quite obvious and rather at hand. In consequence it is naturally to believe that hydrogen will most likely become the power source of the future and therefore lead the dawn of a safer, cleaner, healthier and more affordable society.

 

Se spune ca aflam valoarea adevarata a lucrurilor doar dupa ce le pierdem si le simtim lipsa. Desi mergeam la biserica (la Mitropolia mea draga din Iasi) o data pe saptamana inca din timpul liceului, nu m-am gandit niciodata inainte de a pleca la consecintele ’spirituale’ ale mutarii intr-o tara straina si atat de diferita din punct de vedere religios. Biserica, ca spatiu spiritual dar si ca spatiu concret fizic este o parte din fiinta si viata mea care imi lipseste cel mai mult aici, departe, in Japonia.

Cred ca avem de ce sa fim mandri de bogatia spirituala a tarii noastre, sa fim bucurosi si recunoscatori ca in Romania avem nu doar un loc, ci sute de locuri numai ale noastre de relaxare si recreere mentala si spirituala care ne asteapta mereu cu portile deschise. Si nu doar cantitatea bisericilor, dar si calitatea lor, vechimea lor, sutele si miile de ani, traditia ce se pierde in negura timpurilor si ne leaga de stramosii nostri care este mereu vie, si azi prin intermediul frumoaselor biserici si manastiri din Romania. Fara indoiala acestea sunt lucruri spuse si cunoscute, dar atunci cand traim in Romania le luam de-a gata si ni se pare normal, uitam de cele mai multe ori sa fim recunoscatori si mandri de comorile pe care le avem chiar in casa noastra. Asa cum am mai spus, indepartarea de si lipsa lor ne fac sa le pretuim la cuvenita lor valoare si cred ca este una dintre marile lectii pe care le-am invatat pana acum in viata.

De aceea cred ca initiativa tatalui meu de a crea si intretine cel mai mare portal cu poze, informatii istorice si noutati despre bisericile din Romania vine sa completeze acest gol. Un gol simtit nu doar de romanii instrainati peste hotare ca mine, dar si pentru cei din Romania care se intereseaza si doresc sa se implice cu un minim de efort in viata crestin-spirtiuala a Romaniei si promovarea ei pe Internet. Sa speram ca el va fi in viitor o oaza de spiritualitate virtuala si pentru altii care, ca mine, se simt rupti de viata spirituala romaneasca si sunt in cautarea unui spatiu de rugaciune si credinta!

 

Adresa siteului Biserici.org

www.biserici.org

 

I am a Harajuku fan and Harajuku is my favorite place in Tokyo. Not because of its famous Gothic Lolitas gatherings in the weekends or the Elvises spreading their legs wrapped in tight leather trousers in front of Yoyogi Park. But because of its multi cultural exciting life. Bazaar like small streets with original looks and easy to get bargains, western like restaurants and bars with inovative designs and tables outside through out the summer, as well as a steady heterogeneus crowd flooding all year through in the weekends, they all help up create the specific charm of Harajuku.

And to spice it all up, all sorts of festivals and cultural events are on stage all summer long. I cannot boast having attended all of them, and even those I did I kinda ended up there because of mere coincidences. Harajuku seems to be such a place that all you need to do is drop by and you’ll have your share of fun guaranteed.

I attended the Yosakoi Matsuri between a farewell lunch in Harvester (cosy cafeteria like place featuring the best-cheapest roasted chicken in Tokyo) and a picnic in Yoyogi Park. Despite the incredible mid August heat, the show was interesting and fun, though it was indeed difficult to stay and watch more than 3-4 entries. In Yosakoi Matsuri or Festival, teams from all over Japan compete in traditionally inspired but remixed dances. The outfits are great and the teams are also incredibly heterogeneous, having members of all sexes and ages and nationalities, the music is very engaging and all in all it turns out to be a new and surprising experience for those eager to discover contemporary Japanese culture and its many hidden faces.

Besides, cultural festivals from accross the world are being held in Yoyogi Park now and then. I have attended 2 of them in September and enjoyed it a lot. First was the Brazilian Festival 2007, where I ended up joining my students and their mother, instead of teaching them Japanese at home! Singing and dancing shows, loads of delicious food stands and souvenir shops, along with the lively cerowd and the lovely weather, made it a memorable passtime.

The second was just this weekend and despite the not so inviting rainy weather, was equally crowded and succesful. Namaste India 2007 is also my favorite from all the 3 I’ve attended so far, but I am undoubtedly biased in my choice. Since it directly collapses with my intended future research area, I went there purposefully with my boyfriend and enjoyed all sorts of new dishes from the subcontinent (though some were too expensive, some too spicy etc). I also shopped a lot, incense sticks, earings, traditionally inspired blouses and scarfs as well as recent numbers of India Today and other Indian magazines, just name it and you could have found it there. Even more surprising, many stalls inviting people to go work in India, or travel agencies boasting bargains for cheap flights as well as many humanitarian agencies offering infos abt their activities. Indeed, heaven-like for me, as I am now eagerly looking forward to go and do some volunteer work in India next spring.

All in all, Harajuku is a must to see in Tokyo because it trully is unique and happening. And if you happen to bump into another festival or cultural event, then make sure you make the most of it, cause Harajuku is as protean as it gets and changes its appearance and its events all year long.

 

 

one of the dancing teams in Yosakoi

 

The samba show in Festival Brasil 2007

 

The sitar concert in Namaste India 2007

 

General view of the stalls in Namaste India 2007